Protective cover



May 11, 1954 R. D. MORGAN PROTECTIVE COVER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March l5 1951 gan fx1 May 1l, 1954 R. D. MORGAN PROTECTIVE covER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March l5, 1951 H@ 5, W www No A T/ n@ /W n E 7m a.

Patented May 1l, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE PROTECTIVE COVER Rodney D. Morgan, East Rockaway, N. Y. Application March 15, 1951, Serial No. 215,764

1 Claim. l 1 This invention relates to protective covers for use with place mats, advertising sheets, photographs or the like and particularly to covers so formed that the inserts used therewith may be interchanged at will.

It has been found that in many fields there is a need for a transparent protective cover which permits ready interchange of any inserts used. therewith. 'Ihere also exists the need for a means of non-permanent lamination of a plurality of iiat sheets so that said sheets may be held in working relation and disassembled when desired. v One important example of this need is in the art of decorative place mats for table use. Since these mats are easily stained by food, protection of them is highly desirable. However, it is important that such protective covers permit frequent and ready interchange of the mats. interchanging such mats it is highly important that there be no damage to the mat, which is usually made of fragile paper or line, lacy material. It is also necessary that the mat, in order to fulll its decorative purpose, be securely centered in the cover, and that the cover be held closed when it is moved or cleaned. .l satisfactory fastening means for this purpose must be flat and non-bulky. Heretofore, tapes have been used for sealing such covers, thus preventing ready interchange of the mats, and adhesives or tapes have been used for xing the mats in position in the covers, resulting in destruction of the mats upon removal.

A further example of the need for a satisfactory cover permitting interchangeable inserts is in the display of advertising where the copy must be frequently changed, or in the wall mounting 0i' photographs or pin-up pictures, which is a widely popular hobby, or in the protection or menus of restaurants and the like, which menus must be changed daily.

It is an object of this invention to provide a cover for the protection of a decorative or printed sheet wherein said insert is completely visible for decorative or reading purposes.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a protective cover which is normally held closed Without the use of permanent or temporary adhesive tapes or bulky manipulable fasteners, and which may be quickly opened for replacement of the insert.

Still another object of the invention is toI provide a protective cover wherein the insert may be securely and positively held in centered position therein without the use of adhesives, tapes, fasteners or the like, and irregardless of Whether sheets or bulletins 2 the assembled cover and insert is placed in horizontal or vertical position.

It isa further object of the invention to provide a single means for securing together the sheets of the protective cover and locking an insert in centered position Within said cover.

It is an object of the invention to provide a fastening means permitting lamination of a plurality of separate sheets without the use of adhesives, tapes, individual fasteners and the like in securing the sheets one to another.

A further `object of the present invention is to provide a protective [cover wherein inserts of varying size may be used without alteration of the cover or the fastening means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protective cover wherein inserts of varying size may be used without alteration of the cover or the fastening means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protective cover in which permanent magnets are used as a cover fastening and insert holding means.

With the above and other objects in View, as will be presently apparent, the invention consists in general of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and:

Figure 1 is a top View ot one adaption of my present invention and showing a protective cover decorative tape to the back sheet;

Figure 2 is atop front View of the base sheet with the transparent top sheet removed to show the location of the permanent magnets forming part of the fastening means and partly broken away to show the tape which holds the permanent magnets in their pockets in the base sheet;

Figure 3 is a back cover sheet for that purpose;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure l;

Figure 5 is a front elevation of a second application of the present invention and partly broken away to show a portion of the base sheet and the inner pocket;

Figure 6 is a front elevational View of the base sheet of the form of the invention shown in Figure 5, showing the location of the magnets and the decorative strip on said base;

Figure '1 is a back elevational view of the front cover of the second form of the invention and showing the location of the metal plates which cooperate with the magnets;

Figure 8 is an exaggerated perspective View of the pocket insert and showing the tape fasteners which may be used to hold together vsuch inner pocket if desired;

Figure 9 is a back perspective view of the pocket insert showing the tape fasteners which may be used to hold together such inner pocket if desired;

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional 'view taken on the line lil- I of Figure 5; and

Figure l1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of bar magnet and its associated metal strip.

In this application the invention has been shown as applied to two preferred forms of the invention. it is nevertheless to be understood that the invention may be given other applications wherein a protective cover may be used, and the various changes in the size, shape, location and manner of attaching the magnets and associated metal plates may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

.1n the form of the invention as shown in Figures l to 4, inclusive, the reference numeral I9 indicates the base sheet of the protective cover. This is shown made of cork but may be of any desired material, transparent or opaque. At spaced intervals the sheet il] has apertures Il formed therein, and seated in the apertures are magnets i2. To prevent these magnets from falling out of these apertures the short adhesively attached tapes i3 and elongated tapes I4 may be used.

The reference numeral l5 indicates the transparent front sheet. This is preferably but not necessarily attached to the base sheet at one edge the adhesively attached hinge tape l5.

The back face of the cover l5 carries the thin metal plates l1 and these are spaced to directly overlie the magnets l2 when the front and back sheets are properly aligned. In order to hide the metal plates l1 the front sheet has attached thereto the opaque design pieces i3, or these designs, if desired, may be embossed in the front sheet l5 and given an opaque coating.

The place mat i9 carrying the decorative design 2E- is placed between the separated sheets, centered, and the sheets are closed. It will be seen that the magnets l2 and metal plates l1 hold the front and base sheets firmly together. Further,

the clamping action of the cooperating elements grips the mat insert and holds it firmly in centered position.

1f desired, decorative tapes 2| may be placed on the front face of the base sheet. It will be seen that the magnets I2, if desired, could be adhesively secured to the surface of the base sheet ID.

A second form of the invention is disclosed in Figures 5 to l0, inclusive, this being a protective cover for use with pin-up pictures or photographs and adapted to be hung on a wall or the like.

The reference numeral 22 indicates the base sheet of the protective cover, which is shown as made of transparent material, although not restricted to the same. A decorative border 23 may be adhesively secured to the base sheet 22 as shown. On the front face of the back sheet are placed the fastening elements 24 which may be thin metal plates, either magnetic or nonmagnetic, as desired, and adjacent the lower edge of the sheet is secured the elongated thin metal strip 25. A tab 26 permits hanging of the cover from a nail or the like.

The cover further includes front sheet 21 which is hingedly base sheet 22 by the tape 28. The front sheet may carry the embossed design 29. The back face of the front sheet carries the magnets 30 which overlie the magnets 24 when the base and front sheets are aligned, and the elongated bar magnet 3l which overlies the strip 25. On the front face of the front sheet 21 the decorative elements 32 and 33 cover the magnets on the back face of the sheet.

W'hile the picture 34 may be placed directly between the base and front sheets, it is preferable that it be placed in a secondary pocket. One form of this pocket is shown in Figure 8, 35 being a transparent front sheet and 36 an opaque sheet of decorative material. These two sheets may be joined by adhesive at their top and bottom as in Figure 8 or by tabs 31 as in Figure 9. if this pocket assembly is too heavy to be securely held by the clamping magnets 24 and 30, a strip 33 may be used to attach the pocket to the inner face of the front cover.

It will be seen that either the pocket or picture 34 will be clamped in centered position by the magnets 30 and 24, that the front and back sheets will be held in closed, flat relation when the cover is hung on a wall, and that such holding means may be readily opened for frequent replacement of the picture 34.

What is claimed is:

A protective and display device of the character described including a relatively thick base sheet having a plurality of spaced apertures therein, a iiat permanent magnet of substantially the thickness of the base sheet positioned in each of said apertures, adhesive strips at opposite sides of the magnets and base sheet for holding the magnets in position, a transparent cover sheet overlying said base sheet, a plurality of relatively thin plates of a material capable of magnetic attraction secured to said cover, one of said plates overlying each of said magnets, and a relatively thin decorative insert sheet positioned between said base and cover, said cooperating magnets and plates being further positioned so as to lie within the marginal edges of said decorative insert sheet to thereby serve the double purpose of holding said sheets in assembled overlying relation and clamp the decorative insert in centered position relative to the marginal edges of said device.

the transparent connected to the References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,689,528 Kjellerup Oct. 30, 1928 1,912,900 Karol June 6, 1933 2,177,905 McKeehan Oct. 31, 1939 2,319,292 Boggs May 18, 1943 2,409,814 Vargish Oct. 22, 1946 2,496,141 Abrams Jan. 3l, 1950 2,557,399 Teetor June 19, 1951 2,568,178 Wedder Sept. 18, 1951 2,598,755 Birch June 3, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date '743,967 France Apr. 10, 1933 

